Spuffy! Post Chosen... Buffy has a premonition the night before the big fight and is given the chance at a happier ending... but there's always consequences... *This is the same as the orginal, just with a few added bits and better grammar*

AN: OK, so I had some free time and started to read over the first story I ever wrote, which was Another Way. After starting to read it, I realised how much I loved writing it, but there were a lot of grammatical errors and so on, because it was my first story.... so, as so many loved it, (thank you for all your support by the way) I've decided to edit it and improve, and hopefully, get the sequel up to the same standard and finished too.

Disclaimer: It all belongs to the Wonder Whedon...

Another Way

By Secret Slayer

Prologue

Buffy was tired. No - she was more than that - she was completely and utterly exhausted. She stood at the edge of the gaping crater that was once her home. Her legs trembled slightly and every muscle in her body ached. The sword wound in her gut continued to weep, staining her white shirt beyond repair. There was a painful cut above her eyebrow and she could feel a warm trickle of blood escape it and slide down her cheek. She absently wiped it away with the back of her hand, her gaze unbroken on the site before her.

She had done it again. She had beaten the bad guy, but this time had lost a good guy too. In fact, she had lost many in the big battle, but she could only feel loss for two of them.

She stepped even closer to the edge of the crater so that her toes were dangerously close to the drop off point. It sure was steep. She closed her eyes, remembering how he had refused the fact she loved him. Stupid vampire. But she knew deep down he was trying to make her leave, so she did, but there was that nagging in the back of her mind saying she shouldn't have. However, when her sister had looked so pleased to see that she was OK, she knew she had done the right thing.

Anyway, who wants to die for the third time? That's just silly.

She reopened her eyes again. A single tear slipped down her cheek in the memory of Spike and Anya. At least they had died for a good cause, not that it should have happened, but at least it happened for the right reason.

Her remaining friends were gathered behind her celebrating the end of the big battle. She should have joined them, but felt the need to linger on to the last memories of her lost friends, family and home. Sure, Sunnydale had literally been hell to live in, but it didn't change the fact it was home. It just didn't seem right. There should have been another way. Maybe there was, if only she could have found it. Of course, it was blatantly too late now.

Without warning, the floor beneath her began to shake violently. She turned to the others, her heart pounding with panic, but they didn't seem the slightest bit bothered. They carried on giggling and laughing. There was a loud bang that was instantly followed by darkness. Pitch black. Then, as if she was in a train charging into the light at the end of a tunnel, images started to form. She couldn't quite make them out at first. They just needed to get a little closer. That's when she saw him. Spike, but not alone. Angel and Wesley. But there were others too, people she didn't recognise. They were in an office.

The image changed. A large sign read Wolfram and Hart. Then, as the images continued to fast forward, she moved through a set of large doors that lead into the law firm. Spike was there again, but this time so was Harmony. The female vampire opened a parcel which flashed. Then Spike walked into a door, his nose bled, Angel arrived and then more images appeared, but they were getting faster. They showed random scenes, like a girl in a hospital bed surrounded by both souled vampires, Wesley and the others. They showed Spike in another hospital bed with his hands being sewed on.

They kept happening, moving faster and faster, until they grinded to a halt. She saw a battle. The rain was falling hard. Spike, Angel, an unknown man and a blue lady were fighting for their lives. Then it happened. Buffy screamed, but the sound caught in her throat and no volume escaped, like she was stuck in a nightmare. She watched helplessly, still silently screaming, as both vampires were turned to dust by a hideous monster. Hordes of demons were everywhere.

The next to die was the badly injured man and then the blue woman in the leather cat suit. Although she didn't know the two others it was awful to see, but mainly because they died a gruesome, bloody death that made even the Slayer feel queasy. There was a brief moment of darkness and then the exact images she had just seen began to play in reverse. But this time at double the speed.

Again, the images came to a grinding halt. Moments later, she was standing in front of the crater of Sunnydale again. The ground beneath her trembling legs continued to rumble, but this time even more violently. She couldn't keep her balance. She held her arms out in her best attempt to stop her body from going over the edge, but it was no use. It took one last quake of the earth and she stumbled forward. She kept falling and falling. The ground didn't seem to come. Darkness began to engulf her as she fell deeper into the bottomless pit. Then...

"Buffy luv, what's wrong?"

Buffy sat bolt upright, cold beads of sweat dripping down her body. Her eyes flickered to Spike. His face was wrinkled with concern.

"What the hell was that? Where am I?" Buffy asked. Her voice cracked slightly and her hands trembled uncontrollably.

"We're in your basement pet. You had a nightmare. Its probably just nerves about the big battle tomorrow."

Buffy frowned and shook her head with confusion. "What big battle? And you should be dead," she swallowed hard, trying to take everything in and figure out what on earth was going on.

"Funny Slayer, but one; I am dead and two; the battle with The First. What the hell did you dream about anyway? Was it a slayer dream?" He cocked his head waiting for her answer.

Something clicked in Buffy's brain. She began put the puzzle pieces together and with an unsettling feeling in her stomach, she realised what had happened.

"Something like that," she replied mostly to herself.

They both sat silently for a moment. Spike watched Buffy intently whilst she stared off into the distance. Suddenly, her eyes brightened, as though she had snapped out of whatever state she was in. She faced Spike.

"Oh and Spike?" she asked, her voice low, a small smirk tugging at the corner of her lips.

"Yeah..."

"I love you."

She hadn't expected to say it, but after what she had just saw, it felt right. It was right. How she did it in her vision... that had been wrong. She knew he had no excuse to deny her feelings towards him this time.

Spike's expression went vacant for a moment as it sunk in. Buffy smiled with amusement, watching how he obviously couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"I love you too," he finally managed to say.

Wordlessly, they settled back onto the cot. Buffy nestled herself against his hard, muscular chest. Spike wrapped his strong, marble-like arms around her and cradled her against him.

As she was about to fall asleep, she felt the need to say something to him.

"Just for the record, don't ever tell me you don't."

Spike chuckled lowly.

"Like I would do that," he snorted in disbelief.

Buffy rolled her eyes. Stupid vampire.

And with that, she fell asleep. Tomorrow, she would find another way...

AN: Okie dokie, so there's the edited version... I hope you liked it, please leave a review if you did... this is exactly the same story line as the original, just better... hopefully. Hehe, thanks for reading!

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